From Rural Limpopo To Regional Markets: How Teboho Kwetempane Is Building A Business Around Africa’s Indigenous Crops

In Hlatlaganya Village in Mankweng, approximately 25 kilometres outside Polokwane in Limpopo, Teboho Kwetempane saw a recurring problem in the agricultural communities around him. Valuable crops were being produced locally, but much of the economic value was being created elsewhere.

That observation became the foundation of Dr Kweteps Creatives, an agro-processing business exploring how moringa, indigenous crops and underutilised African foods can be transformed into commercially viable products. Moringa became an important starting point. Rather than simply selling it as a raw agricultural commodity, Teboho saw an opportunity to develop convenient food and nutrition products with greater commercial value.

Teboho holds a BSc in Plant Production and an MSc in Plant Protection from the University of Limpopo. His academic and practical experience gave him deep technical knowledge of agriculture. What it did not immediately provide was a clear path for turning that expertise into a scalable business.

Starting Against the Odds

The learning need was brought into sharp focus at an international exhibition, when a potential investor asked whether his business had a website. Teboho realised that while he understood production and his products deeply, he had been thinking about the company primarily through a production lens. The encounter exposed gaps in digital presence, customer acquisition, business systems and storytelling, and became part of his motivation for joining ALX. 

When Teboho joined ALX in 2024, he did so without sophisticated technology or ideal infrastructure.

He relied heavily on a low-performing mobile phone, while unreliable internet could turn basic digital tasks, from joining an online session to accessing a platform, into serious obstacles. Travelling from his rural community to the ALX Hub also required money he did not always have. At times, he borrowed transport money from friends and relatives rather than miss an important session or pitching opportunity.

“I often felt I had to run twice as hard to reach the same milestones,” he recalls.

Entering ALX meant finding himself among founders who appeared comfortable discussing technology, innovation, pitching, digital platforms and scalable business models. At first, Teboho questioned whether he belonged.

The shift happened gradually. Every time he completed something he had initially thought was beyond him, his confidence grew. Founders he had once felt intimidated by became friends and sources of practical learning.

“I stopped seeing technology as something reserved for people with computer science backgrounds,” he says. “I began seeing digital tools as practical instruments for solving business problems.”

More importantly, he learned that he did not need to have all the answers before entering new spaces. “I did not need to know everything before entering the room. I needed to remain teachable.”

From Founder to Business Builder

One of the biggest shifts was in how Teboho understood leadership. Before ALX, he believed being a committed founder meant personally handling almost everything. Through the programme, he began thinking differently about delegation, systems and developing people who could take responsibility for outcomes.

Today, Dr Kweteps Creatives has grown from a one-person operation into a six-person team. The business has also created short-term workplace learning opportunities for young people through internships and Work-Integrated Learning programmes.

“Seeing other people contribute their skills and livelihoods to something that started as an idea carries a deep sense of responsibility,” he says.

His approach to capital evolved too. Rather than viewing funding simply as money the business needed, he began asking what problem the funding would solve, what milestone it could unlock and what evidence he needed to demonstrate the opportunity.

“Funding readiness starts long before an application form,” he says. “A founder needs evidence, clarity, financial discipline and a credible growth story.”

Turning Technology Into Practical Growth

After ALX, Dr Kweteps Creatives simplified a broad product portfolio to concentrate its resources on three core product lines, particularly its multi-herbal instant porridge and flavoured powders under the Moringa Nutrika Superfoods range.

Before that shift, sales during active months were inconsistent, typically ranging between R5,000 and R8,000. The business now regularly reaches R10,000 or more during active trading periods.

Teboho estimates growth at around 60 percent, driven by a combination of a more focused product portfolio, repeat customers, exhibitions, stronger digital marketing and sales channels, and geographic expansion beyond Limpopo.

Technology now forms part of that wider strategy. QR-enabled engagement sits alongside social media, direct messaging, face-to-face sales and the Kweteps Africa Market e-commerce platform.

The business has also developed Tendai, an AI-powered agent that supports consumer education around moringa and functional-food nutrition. It is another example of how Teboho’s relationship with technology has evolved from something he once found intimidating into something he now applies directly to his business.

For Teboho, the lesson is straightforward. “Innovation does not always need to involve complicated technology. Sometimes a small digital improvement creates a measurable commercial result.”

From Limpopo to Regional Markets

At the 2026 Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo, Dr Kweteps Creatives exhibited its products and received a strong market response, strengthening Teboho’s interest in export readiness and regional distribution.

“For someone who once struggled to find transport money to attend an entrepreneurship session, crossing a national border to showcase the business carried personal meaning too,” he says.

A cross-border relationship with Lesotho is also beginning to take shape. Early trading and market engagement have started, although there is not yet a formal distribution or export agreement. The company’s long-term ambition is to progressively enter regional markets, beginning within the SADC region.

Growth Beyond Revenue

For Teboho, growth is about more than revenue. Dr Kweteps Creatives estimates that it has reached more than 1,500 people directly and indirectly through customers, households, farmers, micro-distributors, small-business relationships and its wider value chain.

Its Kweteps Micro-Distributors Network, established in 2024, enables individuals and small businesses to purchase products in small bulk quantities and resell within their communities. The network has grown from one participant to approximately 15 customers and micro-distributors.

But Teboho sees another kind of impact too. “When a young person from a rural community sees someone from a similar environment developing products, travelling to exhibitions, pitching businesses and entering national and international markets, the distance between their current circumstances and their ambitions starts to feel smaller,” he says.

“The rural background I once thought placed me at a disadvantage became central to the problems I want to solve.”

Confidence Backed by Capability

Speaking on the most lasting impact on him from his ALX experience, Teboho’s said “Confidence backed by capability. ALX did not simply make me feel more confident. The programme exposed me to tools, frameworks, people and experiences that gave me reasons to become confident.” Now he is thinking about what comes next.

Over the next one to three years, Dr Kweteps Creatives plans to work towards establishing an accredited and fully compliant agro-processing facility producing competitive consumer products from indigenous African plants. Teboho envisions a technology-enabled manufacturing operation incorporating automation, digital traceability and Internet of Things systems, alongside stronger export readiness and access to domestic and regional distribution channels.

As that expansion takes shape, his goal is to grow today’s six-person business into a team of approximately 21 young people across different areas of the company. It is an ambitious next chapter for a company being built from Hlatlaganya Village. But that is precisely the point Teboho wants his journey to make.

“I started with what I had,” he says. “Sometimes that meant a struggling mobile phone. Sometimes it meant unreliable internet. Sometimes it meant borrowing money to reach the room where an opportunity was waiting.”

For the young entrepreneur watching from another village, township or underserved community, he hopes his journey leaves behind one message:

“Your circumstances might affect your starting point, but they do not need to define the scale of what you build.”